Having Fun with Beads

I'm on a beading kick, taking a little break from quilting.  I have so much fun making things with colorful beads. Nothing fancy, just casual earrings, bracelets and necklaces to dress up a white or black t-shirt and jeans. It really gets my creativity going, playing around with all the different colors I love.

 

 

 

Someone asked about my jewelry at the retreat last month and so I brought some pieces to show people and surprisingly got some orders to make things. While I was making up orders I couldn't stop myself from creating more stuff so I made myself this bracelet. 

I have more than a few turqoise bracelets.

Here are some of my other favorite pieces.

 

 

I've been in love with colorful beads for a long time.  Several beads on the above necklace were originally from a necklace I bought as a student (!) when I visited the Lake District in England many, many years ago. I always loved the necklace which supposedly was made with polished natural stones from the area but it broke a few years later probably because I wore it so much. I couldn't fix it but hung onto it for sentimental reasons and recently decided to just use the muted colored beads in some of the other necklaces I made, spreading my memories of England around to several different pieces. I think I will use them again now that I remember I still have them. I guess I am sentimental about my beads too, LOL.

 

This necklace was made for me by my friend Julia. Isn't it lovely? Simple beads mixed with fresh water pearls.

My daughter makes jewelry too -

I can get lost in a bead store -

 

 

 

 

If you love playing with color, I'm telling you, you should try beading.

 

Flea Market Finds

We took a trip to the Flea Market on Sunday.

The weather was very cool and overcast but no rain so we gave it a shot. I love looking at all sorts of junk. You just never know what you'll find. I do try to restrain myself and only buy "necessary" items that won't add to my growing collection of clutter. Still . . . a girl's gotta have SOME fun at a flea market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw a few vintage quilts but not many. No real antiques, mostly contemporary ones imported from China.

Nothing I felt I needed. I do believe I need to make a small quilt using pink, indigo and apple green, though!

 

 

In addition to quilts, I'm always on the lookout for authentic Barbie dolls or outfits from the early '60s to add to my vintage collection. Don't see many anymore.

 

 

Don't tell anyone but I actually paid $10.00 for the sunglasses a few years ago. Yes, for a doll. You don't want to know how much for the little zippered travel case to complete the outfit, LOL. Hey, I didn't buy any fabric that week. The  outfit  is original and belonged to my Barbie from my childhood but the accessories for most of the clothes got lost over the years. I like to try to replace them sometimes, just for fun. Maybe I'll take a look at eBay later  : )

 

No Barbie clothes at the flea market, but here's something else I found -

I'd been wanting a small iron like this with a green handle for awhile, ever since my publisher used one as a prop to photograph the Feedsack Flower Garden quilt in my first book, American Doll Quilts.

 

 

Now I have my very own toy iron. And then I spotted this one and knew I needed it just as much as the other one -

 

 

I haggled a bit and got both for almost nothing. What a deal! The little one with the green handle is something I would have loved as a kid. I do not believe my mom would ever have let  me have one if I asked for it though. I was kind of clumsy as a child and you can guess what would have happened.  But I can almost see myself ironing doll dresses alongside my mom. She was a great ironer, my mom, as were many women from that era. Me, now? Not so much. We live in a different world today, don't we? My own kids would not have known what to do with a toy iron. Wash & Wear, that's been my motto for years and the one they grew up with.

 

Of course, my husband wanted to know what I was going to do with my finds. Like there's an actual answer to that question . . .

 

Small Quilt Challenge for June

Are you still following along and making one small quilt a month from projects in some of my books? If so, here is the quilt for June. I cannot believe we are halfway through the second year of making these little quilts.

Follow the directions in my book Remembering Adelia to make your quilt.

 

Choose your favorite appliqué method. I hadn't appliquéd much when I made mine a few years ago and I used a simple needleturn technique, in keeping with the way Adelia and other nineteenth century women did their appliqué. If appliqué is not your thing and you are uneasy about attempting this, you can use an easier method - try fusing the shapes onto the background with fusible web (I like Light Steam-A-Seam 2) and stitching around them with a very small buttonhole or zigzag stitch on your machine.

 

Ruching  (pronounced: "rooshing") is a French term meaning to gather or pleat and was a popular embellishment on women's clothing and hats during the nineteenth century. I made this little quilt with raw edge ruffled flowers because I was inspired by photos of women's clothing that included ruching at the sleeves, necklines and bodices and wanted to incorporate it into a project.  During the nineteenth century, women also wore ruched flowers on their hats and bonnets.

  

 

 

If you don't want to use raw-edge ruching on your flowers as I did, how about making yoyos for the flowers to give it more of a '30s look? Yoyos actually date back to the 19^th century and were called rosettes then but we are more familiar with seeing them on quilts from the 20^th century.  I tried yoyos for the flowers at first but felt they looked a little too modern for a project made with reproduction prints.

Remember - you can also experiment and make the quilt in your favorite fabrics instead of 1800s reproduction prints. Have fun making this sweet little quilt and show me some pictures when you finish.

      

Green Is My Garden

We've had so much rain and for the most part that's good. Everything is GREEN again. Now I need to spend time outdoors planting a bit to get some other colors in the gardens. We were able to plant a few flats of flowers in the front but when we were finished we had only one flat left for the back garden  - we need at least 3 - 5 more. Isn't that always the way it goes? Every year I miscalculate. I guess I'll have to make time for a garden center today or tomorrow. We definitely need more color in the backyard.

 

 

 

Everything is so lush.

 

 

Perennial geranium -  they say it needs full sun but mine grows wonderfully in my shady garden. The blooms only last a little while.

Columbine

 

The annual geranium isn't blooming yet but I couldn't pass it up for 60 cents, LOL. What a bargain. It will flower soon. The garden club in the next suburb over is having a plant sale and I'll be there for some good deals too! 

 

 

 

This little sweetie is so old -  one of my first quilts - but still one of my favorites. Almost looks antique, doesn't it? You can easily make this on your own but I'm thinking of making up a few kits for it. E-mail me if you're interested in buying one and I'll see what I can do.

 

 

 

A few years ago I had gorgeous Hollyhocks in the front. They only lasted a few years. I thought they were supposed to reseed by themselves but they never came back. So I planted more last year and can't wait to see if they took.

 

 

I told my husband I had big garden plans for the awful, scraggly spaces in the back, our "wild" places we've left untended for a few years because we had no time (or in my case, no good knees) to dig or plant more gardens. The knee is better this year so keep a good thought.

Where my wild things are  . . .

Depending upon the heat this summer, this may just be the year to get it done. I always get optimistic at first and then burn out when it gets too hot and can't stand being outside so I told him not to hold me to it. The "wild" may have to be here for another year or two . . . .

Speaking of wild -  my favorite book this year so far (and I've read a LOT of books this year) is Wild  by Cheryl Strayed. I don't often like to recommend books to others because book choices are usually so personal.  Oh my goodness is all I can say. Read the reviews - some of you may like it too. I was very, very moved by this depiction of one woman's strength and her attempt to get her life back together. The subtitle is: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail. I've been complaining about my foot hurting me for the past 6 months. After reading this I'll never complain about my feet hurting again.

A Fun Trip to Ohio

I had to leave the retreat early last weekend because I had a previously scheduled presentation and workshop in Springfield, Ohio, on Monday. I know I say this all the time but I meet the nicest quilters when I travel. Springfield is a great town and the ladies made me feel so at home. Mary M. had a wonderful sense of humor and kept telling us funny stories at the program. Some very sweet ladies.

After I finished my Show & Tell of quilts someone said they believed I brought more quilts than any other speaker had ever brought to their guild before.  That's because 30 of my quilts equals one large quilt of some other quilters, LOL.

 

 

See what I mean? This quilter hand pieced and totally hand quilted her beautiful quilt. It's probably equal to at least 30 of my little ones . . .

On the way home, as usual, we stopped at a quaint little town to check out the antiques -

Love these row houses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shoot, I'm kicking myself -  I should have bought this doll cradle even though I already have several. I didn't buy it because I'm trying to get rid of stuff in my house, not acquire more things I really don't need. Sure is cute.

 

 

 

 

I'll be in Ankeny, Iowa, for a program next month. Contact the guild for more details if you live nearby and are interested in attending.